Dads Do Better Abroad

I don’t want to keep harping on where our nation fails families, but dads, and their offspring, often get better treatment elsewhere, recent reports claim.

In 65 other countries, fathers have the right to paid, yes paid, paternity leave, The Work, Family, and Equity Index found. Some U.S. companies, including Microsoft Corp., offer it, but it’s not a right, and it’s not at all common.

Women are better off, in some ways, with 168 countries offering them guaranteed leave after a child is born, according to the briefing paper for the Council on Contemporary Families. U.S. companies are far more likely to grant women paid leave, but it’s not guaranteed.

Women are also paid during breastfeeding breaks in 73 countries. In the U.S. breastfeeding rights are not protected, though I’m sure many are paid when they nurse or pump on the job.

“But when it comes to protecting the family lives of workers, U.S. public policies lag dramatically behind other high-income countries, and even behind many middle- and low-income countries,” the council said in a statement summarizing the work.

It wasn’t all bad news. The U.S. scored well in terms of safeguards against discrimination at work.

The report was prepared by experts at Harvard University and McGill University and covers 180 countries.